US Airways plane had previous malfunction

Washington  The US Airways jetliner that crashed into New York’s Hudson River last week experienced an engine compressor failure two days earlier, federal safety investigators said Monday.

National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Knudson said the board’s examination of the Airbus 320’s maintenance records show “there was an entry in the aircraft’s maintenance log that indicates a compressor stall occurred on Jan. 13.” The compressor, or fan, draws air into the engine.

He said the flight had a different pilot that day, and the board planned to interview that pilot to learn more about the incident.

NTSB investigators so far have not uncovered “any anomalies or malfunctions with Flight 1549 from the time it left the gate at LaGuardia Airport on Jan. 15 to the point the pilot reported a birdstrike and loss of engine power,” Knudson said. Pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger was able to glide to plane to an emergency river landing and there were no fatalities.